USA: cruise ship forum-selection clause upheld

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of an action brought by the estate of a passenger against the operator of a cruise ship on which the passenger died after contracting a bacterial infection. The dismissal was made on the basis of the forum-selection clause in the passage contract, which provided that all personal injury claims were to be litigated in the courts of England and Wales and be governed by English law. In affirming the dismissal, the appellate court ruled that the forum-selection clause was not contrary to public policy and that its terms were reasonably communicated to the passenger. The decedent was an English citizen and passage had been booked in England.